Queen Henrietta Maria

This engraving of Queen Henrietta Maria (1609-69), consort of the ill-fated Charles I, shows her in a highly revealing, excessively low cut dress, respendent with pearl bodice, necklace and earrings. It is based on an original portrait by court painter Sir Anthony van Dyck, and was engraved by William Faithorne. The inscription matches it for elaborateness, both paying homage to Henrietta Maria ('The Most Illustrious and Right Excellent Princesse / Henriett Maria by the grace of God Queene / of England Scotland France and Ireland. Cc.') and acting as a blatant advertisement for its publisher Sir Robert Peake. Not surprisingly, Peake was a loyal Royalist and civil war army hero, who commissioned designs from leading printmakers at the time, including Faithorne and Wenceslaus Hollar.

See: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw56975/Henrietta-Maria (and links)

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art    June 2017